The 9th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns was hosted by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and the City of Mannheim from 30 September – 2 October 2020.

The conference demonstrated the urgent need for local governments to assume responsibility for urban transformation and lead the way in guiding Europe towards a secure and sustainable future.

The world is facing major environmental, economic and social challenges that require a substantial transformation in all aspects of society. Without this transformation, global and European self-set goals like the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Europe long-term strategy on GHG emission reduction will remain unreachable.

The conference provided a great opportunity to become part of a transformational movement, with over 800 participants from local and regional governments, European and international institutions, multilateral organisations, the research community, business and civil society.

The 2020 edition of the flagship European conference on local sustainable development built on the legacy of previous conferences, most recently in the Basque Country (Spain) in 2016.